Without Yukina
by Hershey-chan
Summary: [Oneshot!] This tells the story of what Kuwabara's love life would be like if Yukina never existed...and to tell the truth, it ain't so bad...I'll let YOU guess the pairing..


**Warning: Botan is just a wee bit out of character, but it's still sweet and fluffy. Enjoy! NO FLAMES!**

Yusuke and Kuwabara sat in Kuwabara's backyard, talking and drinking lemonade. It was a hot summer day, perfect for relaxing and doing nothing. They both sat there, shirtless and bored.

"…Man, I have HAD it with Keiko and her nagging!" said Yusuke. Here he was, whining to Kuwabara about his girlfriend problems...again. "It's always "Yusuke this, Yusuke that!" I'm sick of it!"

Kuwabara sighed, ignoring his complaining friend. He gazed heavily into the sky, wondering why _he_ never could get a girlfriend. He was kind, charming, respectful, and would give his right arm for the people he held dear. Sure, he wasn't the best-looking one of them all, but does that really even matter when he has all these great characteristics? If you lost your dog, _he _would be the one helping you put up the "Have You Seen My Dog" flyers, not Yusuke, and I'm not even mentioning Hiei.

"…Nag, nag, nag! She never leaves me alone! You know, Kuwabara, you're lucky! You don't have that problem!" Yusuke chuckled and drank the rest of his lemonade.

Kuwabara felt a strong, sudden urge to get up and kick the crap out of Yusuke for that comment, but, realizing the huge gap between their physical strength, he let it slide. After all, it was the truth.

Life sucked for Kuwabara. He was all alone. Yep. _All alone._ Those days with arguing with Shizuru were over. All that smoking finally caught up with her and took her life right when she was about to turn her life around and quit.

"Damn, I wish I wish I were you," sighed Yusuke.

"No, you don't," said Kuwabara quietly.

_He's got some nerve, _he thought._ Complaining about his girlfriend and her nagging. At least he **has** one..._

"Hey, go and get me some more lemonade," said Yusuke, tossing him his cup.

"Whatever," mumbled Kuwabara, catching it and leaving.

"Botan! Get your buns down here and deliver this message to Yusuke! Botan! **BOTAN!"**

Koenma's whiny, toddler voice rang throughout Spirit World... for the tenth time today.

"Coming, sir!" she chirped cheerfully.

"Sorry, sir," she said when she arrived at his office.

"Well, you ought to be," said Koenma, pulling out an envelope labeled "top secret". "This message is super important! Tell Yusuke to report back here immediately…"

_I "ought to" take my oar and beat you with it, you stupid toddler!_ she thought as Koenma rambled on about his message.

Botan was NOT in a good mood. Well, who could blame her? **_You_** try delivering umpteen messages to Yusuke just to hear him gripe about "not feeling like it!" She wasn't taking any mess from anybody today……either that or she had a severe case of PMS.

"_Botan this, Botan that! Why doesn't he make Ayame get up off her ass and do some work once in a while! She gets praised all the time and all she's only delivered one message! When's the last time **I** got credit for anything!" _grumbled Botan as she made her way to Yusuke's house. "_I was **this** close to getting a promotion but **noo!** Here comes Ayame to steal all the glory! Just wait till I get my hands on her! This message better be as important as that toddler says it is 'cause if I hear Yusuke say, "I don't feel like it" **one more time…"**_

She arrived at his house minutes later and slid the door open.

Kuwabara pulled open the door of the refrigerator when he heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Hey! Who's there!" He immediately jumped up and pulled out his Spirit Sword.

"Hey, relax! It's j-just m-m-me…" Botan stammered. She blushed, realizing that he was shirtless, and was at a loss for words.

"You okay?" Kuwabara cocked his head to the side, not because she was at a loss for words. Hell, if anybody was to be at a loss for words, it was Kuwabara being at a loss for words for what Botan was wearing! A black tube top, ripped jeans and black converses weren't exactly what you'd call "normal" for preppy little Botan.

"U-umm, yeah," said Botan, trying hard to look at his face and not his chest. It was bad enough she had the hots for him since day one, but she almost couldn't bear what she was seeing. The one guy she had feelings for standing right in front of her…shirtless…staring at her…

"What's that in your hand?" asked Kuwabara, taking the envelope from her.

"Oh, that's for Yusuke," said Botan, rolling her eyes. "It's supposed to be 'top secret,' but I think it's a bunch of crap if you ask me…"

Kuwabara looked out the window to see Yusuke sitting there, snoring.

"I bet he probably doesn't feel like it," said Yusuke.

"Oh, he's gonna feel like it," said Botan, pushing him out of the way and going outside.

"_**YEEOOWCH!"**_

Yusuke exclaimed as he felt a wooden oar being smacked on his head.

"**WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!" **He yelled, ready to beat the crap out of Botan.

"Koenma has a message for you," said Botan, tossing him the envelope.

"What is it?" asked Yusuke.

"**How the hell should I know!"** snapped Botan. Yusuke was taken aback and slightly turned on by Botan's outfit and her crabbiness. "He says you need to get back to Spirit World immediately, so get going!"

"Keep your pants on, I'm going, I'm going," grumbled Yusuke, putting on his shirt and leaving. "This better be important! I don't feel like going anywhere…"

She went back in the house to find Kuwabara—still shirtless, I might add—flipping through the TV channels trying to find something to watch.

"Watcha doin'?" said Botan.

"Watching TV," he replied. "There's nothing on but a bunch of talk shows and soap operas." He tossed the remote to the other side of the room.

"Daytime TV sucks, doesn't it?" said Botan.

"Yeah, it does," said Kuwabara. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Watcha got?" said Botan, grinning.

"Well, there's always 'American Pie'…"

Kuwabara was asleep on the couch and it hadn't even been a minute yet.

_Some movie,_ thought Botan. She looked over at him. _Hmm_, _He's so cute, sleeping like a little baby._

She leaned over and sat beside him. She had never been this close to him before. She felt her face get warm as it turned red.

_Damn it! Get a hold of yourself, Botan! _she thought.

She sighed heavily, trying hard to control herself, but before she knew it she heard herself saying her thoughts out loud.

"_You're so clueless…"_

She ran her fingers through his hair.

"_You're so sweet, kind, and caring…Hell, you'd probably give your right arm for me. You've stolen my heart and everyone knows it but you. I know you probably won't hear me but I've always wanted to say…I love you, Kuwabara. I've always loved you…since day one. I-I don't know why; I'd usually go for the bad boy type, there's just something about you. Maybe it's that goofy smile of yours, or maybe it's your love for kittens. Whatever it is, I'm smitten. I don't care if you don't return my feelings,"—Her eyes welled with tears at the thought of him not loving her back—"I just thought you'd like to know that I love you."_

She softly kissed his forehead and got up to leave. She was halfway out the door when she heard his voice.

"Do you really mean that? You know, what you said just now. Do really mean that?"

Botan turned around, on the verge of tears. She nodded as Kuwabara came up and embraced her.

"Glad to know someone actually returns my feelings for once," he whispered into her ear. "'Cause to tell you the truth, I've kinda had feelings for you too."

Botan's eyes widened in shock and happiness.

"Oh, Kuwabara," said Botan. Her violet eyes lovingly stared into his brown ones.

He put his finger to her lips.

"Call me Kazuma," said Kuwabara as they held each other and kissed until Yusuke came back.

**THE END**


End file.
